Rejoice, the Lord is King

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4

This hymn is a call to rejoice in the divinity, sovereignty, reign, and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has purged the stain of our sin, has the keys of death & hell, and reigns from God’s right hand. The born-again believer rejoices in these things and more – including in the glorious hope of his return. In the Hallelujah Meter format (6.6.6.6.8.8.), each of the first five stanzas repeats in the end: “Lift up your heart, lift up your voice, Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.” The sixth stanza shifts to conclude with rejoicing in the sounding of the trump of God at the second coming of Christ.

This hymn was supposedly first published in John Wesley’s Collection of Moral and Sacred Poems in 1744 – but I did not find it online. I did find it as Hymn VIII in Hymns for Our Lord’s Resurrection (London: W. Strahan, 1746). It possibly most commonly appears with the tune Darwall, and would work well with our Sacred Harp tune Lenox.

1. Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore,
Mortals, give thanks, and sing,
And triumph evermore:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

2. Jesus the Saviour reigns,
The God of truth and love,
When he had purged our stains,
He took his seat above:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

3. His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules o’er earth and heav’n,
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus giv’n:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

4. He sits at God’s right hand,
Till all his foes submit,
And bow to his command,
And fall beneath his feet:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

5. He all his foes shall quell,
Shall all our sins destroy,
And ev’ry bosom swell
With pure seraphic joy:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice

6. Rejoice in glorious hope,
Jesus the Judge shall come;
And take his servants up
To their eternal home:
We soon shall hear th’archangel’s voice,
The trump of God shall sound, rejoice.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788) was a son and the youngest child of Samuel Wesley and Susanna Annesley. In conjunction with his brother John, Charles was a leader in the Methodist movement in the Church of England. John is best remembered as a preacher, and Charles as a poet. He wrote over 6,000 hymns, and stands with Isaac Watts at the top of English hymnody. While Watts is called “the father of English hymnody,” Wesley is often called “the prince of hymn writers.”

In 1749, Charles married Sarah Gwynne (1726–1822) They are buried at the St. Marylebone Churchyard in Greater London, England.

The composer of the tune Darwall was John Darwall. Darwall was the son of a pastor, and became a vicar in the Church of England. He was a poet, musician, and composer as well. He was born in Staffordshire, England in 1731 and died in Walsall, West Midlands, England in 1789. He is buried in the Bath Street Burial Grounds in Walsall.